The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen two of its most successful franchises struggle to register their first win. Although the 4-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered their first victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the 5-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) are yet to open their winning account.
The Rohit Sharma-led side recently suffered its sixth consecutive loss. MI on Saturday (April 16) were handed an 18-run defeat by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). As a result, Mumbai's chances of making the playoffs have become bleak.
One of the biggest concerns for the Mumbai-based franchise is their skipper’s form at the top. Rohit has managed a total of 114 runs in 6 matches at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 129.
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Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke to ESPNcricinfo about what he thought was going wrong for Rohit and his team. "Really don’t know what’s happening with Rohit Sharma. When he scores even 20, it seems like the machine is fine. But it suddenly stops working and he gets out. He looks in fine form, but he’s just not been able to perform," he said.
“It’s not just about this season. He hasn’t made the kind of impact in the IPL that players like KL Rahul and David Warner have. I don’t know the reason - maybe he is too invested in international cricket. There is no problem with his technique. When you look at Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan, you can see that they are slightly out of form. Rohit is batting well, but the runs are not coming" he said further.
Manjrekar also commented on Ishan Kishan, who is the franchise’s most expensive buy. The 23-year-old started the season with two consecutive half-centuries but was seen struggling to get going in recent matches.
“I have observed a pattern with Ishan Kishan’s batting. When he is in rhythm, he scores at a strike rate of 150. When the Indian Premier League was being held in Chennai during the first half last season, his strike rate had dropped to 80 for a few games. When he is struggling, he is completely out of form and his strike rate slips below 100" Sanjay said.
(HT INPUTS)
